Remember When It Rained
by Kitten Kisses
Summary: FE7. The woman he loved was dying in his arms. Don't leave me, he thought. Without you, I have no purpose. Kent/Lyndis.


**Remember When It Rained  
By: Manna **

* * *

_Ohhhhhh Remember when it rained.  
Felt the ground and looked up high,  
And called your name.  
Ohhhhhh Remember when it rained.  
In the darkness I remain._

* * *

The moment in which he realized that she would die was eternally long. He had been fighting against a man who was nearly his equal on the battlefield, and they had both been thrown from their horses in the pounding rain that was falling upon them. He had been standing mere feet away from her when the killing blow had struck. 

He had never doubted her skills…but perhaps he should have…

The others did not see her go down, landing on her back gasping for breath even as her life fled from her body, her numb fingers clutching at nothing except the small puddles of water that had collected on the cobblestones in the middle of the street.

Almost without conscious thought, his sword found itself embedded in the heart of the enemy cavalryman, the tip puncturing through his weak, thin armor. He pulled the dead man's lance from his twitching fingers, and threw it as hard as he could at the head of the man that had taken her down.

He could see the other man's eyes widen with shock as the point of the lance made contact with his face, and he only watched the brigand long enough to see him fly backwards in a flash of blood, his scream trailing off as he died, a flash of lightning the last thing that lit up his night.

His own voice had been lost to the wind and his anxiousness as he ran to her side, falling onto his knees, completely ignoring the pain that it sent through his tired limbs. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and he knew there was nothing he could do. Even if Serra or Priscilla were standing _right there_…nothing within their power could save her life. The life of someone that he lived to serve, to protect…

The rain pounded on his head, soaking and darkening his auburn hair as he clumsily fumbled with his gauntleted hands to pull her head off of the dirty road. After a time, he removed one of his gauntlets and managed to hold onto her, stroking the side of her face with his numb fingers.

"I'm here," he said, his voice strained, but still soft. "I won't leave you." All thoughts of telling her that he was sorry for his failure fled his mind. She would already know how he felt.

Her eyes were struggling to focus on his face, and when she did, she spoke, one hand gripping his leg, "K…Kent?"

The rain continued to fall, soaking them through to the skin as she lay dying in his arms. _Don't leave me_, he wanted to say to her. _Without you, I will have no purpose._ But he merely nodded as another flash of lightning lit up the sky. "Yes," he said, hanging his head in shame that he had failed her when she had needed him most. There was so much he wanted- no, needed- to say to her…but it was all lost to him as she opened her mouth to speak.

"I…" she started to say, one cold hand still gripping his leg while the other one moved to rest against the curve of his face, her fingers trembling. He held her hand there with his gloved one, unable to tear his eyes from her face as a thin stream of blood started to fall from the corner of her mouth, though the rain washed most of it away as soon as it appeared.

_This is it,_ he thought. The woman he loved was dying in his arms… What would he be without her? A mere shell of a man…of that much he was certain. What could he say to her, now, as she lay in his embrace? He had taken a vow- so much like a marriage vow, Sain had always teased him- and he had not been able to keep it… He felt his heart pounding in his chest, faster than the beat of the rain, as he tightened his grip on her…as if it would keep her there with him only a little while longer.

Her hands shook uncontrollably, and she opened her mouth again, as if she wanted to finish her sentence, but her muscles all relaxed themselves against her will, and her body fell limp against him. Gathering her in his arms protectively, he pressed his face into her neck, not caring about the blood or the cold rain that would wash it all away. "Lyndis…oh, Lyndis…" he muttered, his voice drowned out by the sound of the downpour against the cobblestones as he slowly rocked back and forth, her body cradled against him.

--

_The rain had been falling lightly that day as the sun shone on them heavily. It was hot outside, and the water was a blessing to all of them. He had never seen her quite so happy as he had that warm summer afternoon, and he could never forget the way she had smiled as she looked at him._

"_Kent?" she asked, "Does it rain often in Caelin?"_

_He had not even been given a chance to answer before his partner had voiced his own opinion. "Far too much," Sain mumbled, trying to wipe all the moisture from his hair. "Sometimes I think it is a curse, because it keeps all of the lovely lasses indoors."_

_Lyndis had laughed, then, her voice light and charming. "It doesn't rain often in Sacae," she told them, stretching her arms out as far as they could go before she spun in a circle in the rain, stopping as she faced them again. "We like to view it as some sort of…hope. Without it, grass would never grow, flowers would never bloom…"_

_He had been entranced by not only her words, but also her motions. Though it was not exactly a dance, she made it appear to be one. He watched her turn another circle, and then another as he and Sain rode on either side of her._

"_Oh," she sighed, her hair stuck to her face. "Enough of my foolishness, we need to get moving…"_

_He had reluctantly agreed._

--

The rain that was falling seemed anything but hopeful to him as he held her dead body in his arms, but the image wouldn't leave his mind, and he slowly laid her on the ground, standing up to look into the dark skies above. "Lyndis!" he choked out, his voice not as loud as he would have liked. He spread his arms out as far as he was able and stared at the sky as he slowly turned in a circle, his boots splashing water into the air as he let the precipitation run down his face and arms.

He couldn't tell if he was crying or not, but if there were any tears being shed, the rain was washing them away along with the blood that had been spilled that night.

_Hope,_ she had called the cold drops of water that fell on him as he looked to the sky for answers, his arms spread out, appearing to all the world like a child dancing in the rain.

He stopped turning to look at her broken form lying in the street. _There is no hope_, he thought.

All of his hope had died along with her.

The sky lit up with lighting again, and if he had turned around, he would have seen the wyvern in the sky behind him, but all he heard was the beast's ferocious scream a mere second before he felt a searing pain in his back.

As he pitched forwards, he noticed the tip of a javelin protruding from his stomach, and he could feel the warm blood running down his skin in a stark contrast to the chill of the rain that pelted against him. He shuddered as he landed on top of her, his hands struggling to roll himself off though his legs were paralyzed. He only half-succeeded in his endeavor, and he found himself looking into her dead eyes, his own fingers trembling as he tried to brush her wet bangs out of her face.

"Though I could not die in your place," he whispered, his voice hoarse and quiet against the sound of the storm that raged around them. "I …will die with you, with honor."

She did not respond. He sighed, feeling blood well up in his throat, unable to move any longer, and he felt his head fall to the stone beside her with a dull thud. _My Lady_, he thought, his voice refusing to work. _I love you, and I will always be at your side…_

All he heard as he felt his life drain away was the sound of the rain falling all around him, and even as he took his last breath, he could only feel the puddle of water he was lying in, red with the blood of a knight and his lady.

By the time they would stumble upon them, the rain would have washed all the blood away, leaving the streets as clean as they could possibly get, and there would be only the two of them together; his cold lifeless hand still resting against her cheek. Perhaps that was hope, in a sense. Hope that they had not been forced to die alone, to live alone… or to spend eternity alone.

* * *

**Author Notes:**

I worked pretty hard on this. I started it when I was sick, and wasn't happy with the results…so I reread it about a week later, and did some editing. I'm pretty happy with the outcome, this time. The flashback scene should fall in place at the beginning of the game, where Sain, Kent, and Lyndis are alone, but before they reach Caelin.

First of all, I want to say that I wanted this piece to portray something in particular… in this case, the absolute _beauty_ of the song I've named it after- _Remember When It Rained_, by Josh Groban. Do yourselves a favor, and look this song up (on YouTube, iTunes, or Limewire). It's by far my favorite song of all time… I can hear it over and over, and I don't get tired of it. The music, his voice… I can't praise them enough. Nobody sings quite like he does. He is a constant inspiration in my life.

Secondly, I want to thank everyone who has been faithfully reading my 'fics- some of you have been following me for many years. I appreciate any advice, friendly talk, and emails that I've received. I've found that I enjoy writing for the _Fire Emblem_ section more than I have for most others, even though reviews are harder to get, here. You all inspire and help me to become better at doing something that I enjoy doing in my free time. Thank you.

Thanks for reading this, everyone. If you have anything to say, please feel free to do so. Comments of all kinds, and constructive criticism are very much appreciated, and I will take all things to heart.


End file.
